UBS set to charge wealthy for keeping euro savings

Zurich

UBS, the world's biggest wealth manager, will impose a penalty charge on customers who park euros with the bank, making it one of the largest lenders to break what has been a taboo in finance as sub-zero interest rates bite.

The Swiss bank will introduce from May an annual fee of 0.6 per cent on accounts with more than one million euros (S$1.5 million) in response to the European Central Bank's (ECB) ultra-low rates, put in place to help a fragile economy but which hurt banks.